Field of the Invention
The present disclosure relates to animal training systems, particularly an animal training system with a collar having a cinch strap that can connect to a leash.
Background
Collars and harnesses are often used when training a dog or other animal. A handler can use a collar or harness to control the animal's movements and thereby direct or train the animal. Training can be done to teach new behaviors to an animal, and/or encourage the animal to stop harmful or undesirable behaviors. For instance, collars or harnesses are often used when training a dog to stop pulling on a leash.
While collars or harnesses are commonly used when training animals, many conventional types of collars and harnesses cause animals to experience discomfort and/or pain during training. Some types of collars, such as metal prong or choke collars, are specifically intended to use discomfort to teach animals not to perform certain behaviors. This practice has become controversial, with many considering it to be inhumane. It also can produce confusion or aggression in the animal instead of teaching the animal. Other collars, such as standard flat collars, can put uncomfortable pressure on an animal's neck when the animal attempts to move away from a trainer.
Other types of collars and harnesses have other drawbacks. Martingale collars can be difficult to pass over an animal's head, and then must be re-adjusted on the animal's neck, which can be time-consuming. In some cases the time-consuming process of putting on and taking off tightening training collars, such as Martingale collars, leads people to leave a training collar on their animal at all times. This can be a dangerous choking risk because such collars can tighten when accidentally caught on something during everyday use. Harnesses can also be difficult and/or time-consuming to fasten around an animal's head, and in some cases can provide the animal with more leverage to pull a trainer around instead of giving the trainer more control over the animal.
What is needed is a collar with a cinch strap that can be at least partially pulled away from the collar's main strap, such that the cinch strap can be pulled for a distance before pulling or tightening forces are applied to an animal's neck through the main strap. The collar should also have a band under the main strap that is wider than the main strap, such that any pulling or tightening forces applied to the main strap are dispersed over a wider area than the main strap to minimize discomfort in an animal wearing the strap.